How To Save A Life
by Melephunk2010
Summary: 6 Months after Jackson was driven out of his life, Aaron returns to Bar West where he meets struggling Australian rockstar, Liam Turner. After a rocky start, Will romance blossom? C4 RATED M
1. Chapter 1

**Deleted this fic from the site after losing it during a recovery of my laptop. Recently found it again on a memory stick, so here it is! Enjoy! xx**

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><p><strong>How To Save A Life<strong>

**Description: 6 Months after Jackson left, Aaron heads to Bar West, and meets struggling Australian rockstar, Liam Turner. After a rocky start, secrets and a few twists and turns, will romance eventually blossom?**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**~*~*~ Aaron's POV**

Back here, yet again. Back to the place where it all went wrong for me. Bar West. I don't even know what I'm doing here. This place turned my life upside down, and yet here I am, propping up the bar, on my own on a busy Saturday night. People have been looking at me ever since I came in. Is it because they know who I am? Know what I did? That night, I wrecked someone's life...

****Flashback****

"I'm sorry." The doctor replied, as Aaron's worst fears were confirmed. Jackson was paralysed. Permanently.

Silent streams of tears fell from Aaron's eyes as he looked through the window, and saw the man he loved lying on the bed, his mum wrapping her arms around him as he lay there helpless, no longer being able to do anything for himself. Aaron knew from that point that Jackson Walsh's life was ruined.

"There's no more that you can do?" Aaron begged, hoping for some kind of relief. Sadly, it never came. He fell against the wall, sliding down it, sobbing. He'd done this. It was HIS fault. And nothing anybody could say or do was going to change that. Aaron Livesy was unable to stop bringing tragedy on those that he loved.

****End flashback****

**~*~*~ Aaron's POV**

Great. I forgot. It's Unsigned Bands night. Loud music was pounding my eardrums so much I swear they were set to burst. Even worse it was some kind of EMO Rock band. Brilliant. They were rubbish, no doubt about it, All floppy hair, tattoos, probably scarred wrists…You think YOU'VE got problems? Try living my life mate! They finally finish, and, My god, they're actually getting applauded. They're coming towards me. That blonde one won't stop smiling at me. I see his mouth move, but the words don't register…If I'm honest, this close up he's actually quite cute.

"Sorry mate, what?" I asked above the loud music

He smiles at me "I asked if you would like a drink? You on your own?" He asks, in a strong Australian accent.

"No I'm good thanks."

"Liam Turner" He smiles, extending his hand. I smiles slightly at him, hoping that if he didn't get the hint he would do one. I shake his waiting hand anyway, trying to look interested as I get chatted up yet again . "Aaron Livesy"

"Well it's nice to meet you Aaron, So, what did you think of the gig?"

"You guys were good." I smiled.

"Thanks. We're hoping we'll get where we want to be soon. You from around here?"

"Emmerdale, that little village about 30 minutes away from here."

"I'm from Robblesfield. Well, not originally, as you can probably tell! I lived in Adelaide just up to a few years ago, Moved down here to see if I could make the big-time with my band. We're getting there."

"Cool. What's the name of your band again? I must of missed that."

"Toxic Annihilation."

"urm…Cool?"

Liam laughs and winks at me. "Yeah we hear that a lot. You sure I can't get you a drink?"

I smile, feeling my heart beating fast. I finally give in and kindly accepted Liam's offer. "I'll have a bottle of beer please."

"Coming up." Liam says, flashing that grin again. He hands me a drink and smiles again. What is it with these Australians?

"Listen. You wanna sit somewhere quiet? I'd like to get to know you a bit more. If that's ok? I take it you're…"

"Gay? Yeah. Wanna sit over there?" I ask, pointing to the most secluded area of the bar.

Liam nods and walks towards the table, I follow slowly behind…What the hell am I doing? Why am I putting myself through this again? It'll go wrong, Just like the last time, I keep telling myself to run, but the more I do, the more I find myself following the mysterious Liam.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"So, Aaron, What do you do with yourself then?" he asked, taking a swig of his beer.

"I'm a mechanic."

"Ah, so now I know where to come when I want some work doing!" Liam grinned

"What car you got?"

"It's only a small car, Not anything extravagant. Ford Fiesta."

I winced as those words cut through me like a knife. THAT was where it all started. THAT was exactly the reason why I'd paralysed my now ex-boyfriend. the reason why I was here now, with Liam. "Tell me a bit more about yourself, Liam" I smiled, trying to take my mind off things.

"There's nothing really to say, I'm Australian, I'm 21, I'm in a band.."

"There's something else about you though….Kinda mysterious."

"Really?" Liam asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah…I can't work you out. I dunno, forget I said anything." I cringed, I could feel my face warm from embarrassment and Liam started laughing. "Maybe there is something…..You never know." he winked.

The night went on and god, I was flirting shamelessly. I don't know what it was, but that hint of mystery about him was becoming more and more attractive.

"So, Aaron, What's a good-looking guy like you doing in a dive like this?" Liam asked

"Trying to find a good-looking guy?" I said, without thinking and Liam smiled again.

"Well, You and me both. Thing is though. I think I've found one."

"Seriously? I thought you said GOOD looking?" I asked, when it finally dawned he was talking about me.

"You're a good-looking lad Aaron,. Far better than any other guy I've been with. So, tell me more about yourself."

"Nothing to say really. I just…I honestly think you could do better." I replied, as the memories of Jackson started to come flooding back. It had only been six months, since Hazel took him away from me. She wanted to return to her travelling, Jackson having the crash made him want to see the world too. They both left me behind, heartbroken.

"Why could I do better?" Liam asked

"There's just a lot of things that's happened in the past, that makes me think I'm not worth the bother."

"NOW who's being mysterious?" Liam laughed. "Aaron, every body makes mistakes, some mistakes you can never fix. I've made plenty. Half of the songs I have written have been about mistakes me and my band mates have made. You're only human Aaron. Humans mess up."

"Not half as much as me. 2010, it's a year I want to forget. I did a lot of things I just wanna forget about, not talk about."

Liam nodded understandably. "It's ok mate. Honestly, You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. Look, I've got to go, Can we meet up again? I really like you, Aaron."

I should of said no, but I couldn't. I took his number and he waited outside with me until my taxi arrived. I kept looking at him, while we were out there, it was July but it was really cold. He noticed me glancing at him and turned to face me.

"What's wrong Aaron?"

"Just wondering really…." I replied, the effects of the many drinks I'd had that night beginning to kick in, "…What it would be like to kiss someone with piercings" I smiled, looking at his lips, his bottom lip pierced at both ends of his mouth.

"Why don't you find out then?" Liam replied, seriously, he moved towards me and placed his hand on my cheek and kissed me softly on the lips as my taxi pulled up. He pulled away, and I looked into his blue eyes, almost a mirror image to mine. "Call me?" Liam asked

"Yeah. I'll see you soon, Liam."

"Take care, Aaron." He smiled, before kissing me softly again.

I knew it, the taxi driver knew it, and Liam probably knew it; I had a goofy grin on my face all the way back to Smithy.

eeee

I let myself into the house, Paddy had left me a note, to say he was on call. I smiled and put the note back down on the table. I walked upstairs to my room and lay on my bed, I couldn't get Liam out of my head. His blonde spiky hair, his blue eyes, his many piercings, Normally, I wouldn't go for a guy like that, he was the complete opposite of Jackson, but there was no denying it, he was gorgeous. Determined to make at least something between us whether it was mates, or more, I pulled out my phone and text him, a short but sweet message, I read it over and over again before I actually had the courage to send it. _"Hey, It's Aaron. Thanks for tonight. Can't wait to see you again. X :)". _I set the phone down on the side, and slowly drifted off into the most peaceful sleep I have ever had.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

***~*~*~ Liam's POV**

I jumped slightly as my phone vibrated in my pocket, my face almost split in two with a smile when I saw who it was from. I really liked talking with Aaron tonight. The guys couldn't resist a dig though. We all lived together in a small flat in the centre of Robblesfield. They made jokes about how they weren't expecting me home, about how I was like a lovesick puppy over a guy that I had just met. He told me he thought I was mysterious…yet after what he told me tonight, I'm thinking the other way around. There's something dark about him I guess. Something quite….sexy, really. I didn't want to text him back, he was probably asleep, I'd text him in the morning. I knew one thing was for sure, though, I wasn't sleeping tonight. I just couldn't get him out of my head. I couldn't stop thinking about him…I couldn't stop myself falling for him.

eeeeeee

***~*~*~ Aaron's POV**

I groaned as a loud beeping sound filled my ears, my hangover was truly kicking in. I hadn't dreamt of anyone but Liam. I stretched over to grab my phone, the bright lights hurting my eyes in the darkness of my bedroom. I smiled when I saw the name on the screen and opened the message.

_"Hey, It's Liam, Hope I haven't woke you up. I can't wait to see you either. I actually don't want to wait long. Bar West tonight 8pm? Xx"_

I smiled again and text him back, agreeing to the meet. I was in a great mood, and knew I was going to get a hell of a lot of stick for it at work.

I got to work earlier than usual…first comment of the day, came from Ryan.

"Cain! Cain! You better come out here! You are going to freak when you see this! Aaron's actually on time for his shift!"

"Oh shut up!" I laughed, pulling on my overalls.

"AND he's in a good mood! You blatantly pulled last night, didn't you Livesy?" Ryan asked.

"Maybe." I grinned.

"Name, age, details…"

"Bloody hell Ryan! You don't miss a thing do you?" I sighed as he looked at me, begging for answers.. Sighing again, "His name's Liam, He's 21 and he's Australian. He was there last night as part of that "Unsigned Bands" gig. He looks like a blonde version of Jacoby Shaddix from Papa Roach. Happy?" I asked, not wanting to give away anything else. Actually, come to think of it, that was all I knew about him.

"What's his band called then?" Ryan asked, unconvinced

"Toxic Annihilation" I replied, working on a Nissan Micra

"Toxic what? No way Livesy, you're lying to me!" Ryan laughed "An Australian in Emmerdale?"

"Robblesfield, actually" I replied, flicking him the "V" sign.

"You're lying to me!"

"Oh yeah? Well I'm seeing him tonight, and I'll take his picture then we'll see who's lying, Grease Monkey!"

"You can get a picture from anywhere of a bloke looking like that!"

"I'm telling you he's real!" I laughed

"Yeah….Course he is!"

eeeee

**~*~*~ Bar West **

**~*~*~* Liam's POV**

I walked into the bar and instantly saw him. I made my way over and slipped into the seat next to him. "You been waiting long?" I asked

"No not long. I got you a drink. Here."

"How are you anyway?" I asked

"I'm ok. One of the lads I work with, Ryan, he kinda interrogated me this morning."

"How do you mean?"

"You wearing eyeliner?" he asked.

"Yeah, I always do. Why? Do you not like it?"

"I love it." he replied, seductively

"What were you saying about your friend?" I smiled, dipping my head so Aaron couldn't see the blush.

"Ok, basically, I was in a really good mood this morning, which is rarer than an eclipse, I will admit. He knew I came here last night, put two and two together and demanded details."

"Oh. Did you tell him?"

"Course I did. He thinks you're imaginary."

"Looks like I'll have to meet this Ryan bloke then doesn't it? If you're ok with that?"

"Yeah, That would be good. Certainly wipe the smirk off his face anyway"

A guy approached the table, standing behind Aaron, he looked at me and smiled. "Alright gorgeous, Need some help getting out of those wet clothes?" he winked

I looked at him in disbelief "My clothes aren't wet."

"That can be arranged, sweetheart." he smiled. I was about to tell him to get lost, when Aaron stood up and faced him. "Want some ice for that black eye?" he asked

The man looked at Aaron, and almost like a role reversal, he replied with "I haven't got a black eye"

"Yeah? Well that can be arranged, sweet cheeks. Do one." Aaron smiled, sitting down next to me. "Sorry" he smiled

"Don't be" I laughed. "You certainly showed him! I'll just nip to the loo. Wont be long" I smiled, planting a kiss on Aaron's cheek. He seemed stunned, kind of annoyed at what I did. I walked away to the toilets cursing myself. What the hell had I just done? Had I just ruined pretty much everything?

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter contains sexual content. You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

***~*~* Liam's POV**

I came back from the toilet, and thankfully Aaron was still sitting at the table. I slid in next to him and smiled "I'm sorry about before."

"No it's ok." He replied "It just surprised me, that's all. Anyway, Come on Mystery Man, tell me a bit more about yourself."

"There's nothing to really say."

"You know you were saying to me that you'd made a few mistakes…"

"You wanna know about them?" I asked, surprised he could remember what was said that night.

He placed his hand on my knee and smiled at me "Only if you want to tell me. If you don't I understand."

"No its ok…I just…I don't know where to start." I sighed deeply, I had to tell him if I wanted some kind of chance with him, I knew that. I just hope I don't start blubbing like a fool.

Aaron squeezed my knee again "Liam. Honestly, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

I looked into his eyes and smiled "Just…don't walk off if I start crying ok? I've never told anyone this apart from the guys in the band but I feel I can trust you enough with this."

Aaron nodded and I started to tell him everything that happened. Once I started, I couldn't stop; "My mum…I was so horrible to her. She was having a go at me one morning because I'd came in drunk the night before. Gave me a lecture about how I shouldn't be drinking when I've got college to go to. I told her to fuck off, and stay the hell out my life." I sighed as a tear rolled down my cheek. "Two hours later, I got a phone call at college. She'd collapsed and died of heart attack. A heart attack I gave her. The last thing I said to her Aaron…was telling her to fuck off. I contemplated suicide, I damn near nearly succeeded. It still hurts, I'll never, ever forgive myself for what I did to her. Everyone tried to convince me it was natural causes, she'd had heart problems before. But I knew it wasn't. It was me. I killed her."

I felt myself being tugged into Aaron's warm embrace. He kissed the top of my head, he didn't say anything, he just held me until the tears subsided. I lifted my head and smiled at him through teary-eyes.

"Thanks Aaron"

"It's ok. I'm so sorry Liam."

"Thanks…There's still more to me you know, but…"

"You don't feel ready to tell me yet?"

I shook my head and Aaron understood. "I have things…I need to say too…but, I don't think I'm ready either. I trust you Liam, but I just…I don't think I can trust me."

"I'm sorry for crying all over you." I smiled, looking at Aarons pale blue t-shirt, which was now soaked with my tears.

"It's fine. Honestly. I'm glad you told me." Aaron smiled, capturing my lips in a soft kiss.

"I'm just nipping to the loo" Aaron smiled.

Before I could stop myself, I was following him. I watched him disappear into a toilet cubicle and I knocked softly on the door.

"Someone in here mate!" I heard him call.

"I know!" I laughed, he opened the cubicle door and looked at me, smiling. "Can't keep away from me, eh?"

"Something like that" I smiled, pushing Aaron back inside the cubicle and locking the door.

"What's going on?" he asked

"I could ask you the same thing!" I laughed, noticing the bulge growing in his trousers. He blushed and tried to hide it best he could. "Have that much of an effect on you do I, Aaron?" I asked, pinning him against the walls of the cubicle and kissing him hungrily.

"We'll get caught!" Aaron gasped as I literally ripped the shirt off his back.

"And tell me that doesn't turn you on? You think we're the only people who have done this?" I replied seductively, my hands working down to undo his jeans. His jeans fell to his ankles and I softly stroked him through his boxers. "Fuck...Liam…"

**~*~*~ Aaron's POV**

It took me a while to come to my senses, and start undressing Liam too. His jeans slid off effortlessly and my hand came into contact with his own erection. "Now who's affecting who?" I smirked.

"Aaron…I want you…" Liam gasped

I slid his boxers off too and held him against the wall as I knelt down, I teased him at first, softly kissing his thighs and toned stomach. I could already feel him squirming and his head hit the wall with a thud when I took him into my mouth.

"Oh fuck…Aaron…"

I could feel his hand on the back of my head, pushing me further down his shaft. My head bobbed up and down as I put my expertise at work, my tongue sliding up and down the shaft, occasionally flicking over the head, and then swallowing him back down again. His breath was getting shorter, and he choked out a strangled "Aaron…" before cumming into my mouth. I swallowed it down with ease and kissed up his now burning, sweaty body.

"That was amazing.." He gasped

"You taste amazing" I grinned, kissing him hungrily.

"My turn" Liam grinned, pushing me against the wall, He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. "Fuck me Liam.."

"Are you sure?" he asked, his blue eyes clouded with lust.

"Yes. I want you to fuck me."

**~*~*~* END POV**

**eeeeeee**

Liam was more than happy to oblige, and offered Aaron his fingers. "Suck." Aaron did as instructed and coated Liam's fingers in saliva.

"Just relax, Aaron, ok?"

Aaron groaned in ecstasy as he felt Liam's finger slowly enter him, stretching him.

"Liam…"

Aaron squirmed in delight as he felt a second finger enter him.

"Liam…just do me already!" Aaron gasped as Liam's fingers left him.

Liam lined himself up and entered Aaron slowly, the mechanic hissing at the slight sting that came with it. Liam brushed up against Aaron's sweet spot, causing the mechanic to groan loudly yet again. He tightened his grip around Liam's waist, pushing him in deeper.

"Liam...faster" Aaron panted, and Liam gladly picked up the pace, his cock constantly ramming into Aaron and hitting the sweet spot every time.

Liam's breath quickened as he got closer and closer to the edge. Aaron grabbed his own bulge and started pumping furiously so they could both cum together. Liam picked up the pace even more, driving Aaron back into the state of euphoria, Aaron couldn't hold on any longer, nor could Liam and both boys reached their climax together, fountains of sticky liquid pouring into Aaron and across Liam's stomach.

They sank to the floor, sticky but satisfied. "Aaron…That was…" Liam shook his head, emabarressed.

"Wow. I've actually found a way to shut you up!" Aaron grinned, as he began to get dressed again.

"I cant go out there looking like this!" Liam laughed, pointing to the cum that was now drying on his chest

"Let's get you cleaned up then" Aaron smiled, getting down on his knees and licking his cum off his lover's body, occasionally sharing passionate kisses with Liam so they could both share the taste.

"There. All clean" Aaron winked, pulling Liam to his feet. "We better get out of here."

"Hope we didn't have an audience. You weren't exactly quiet." Liam laughed

"Yeah you were pretty vocal yourself mate! Come on, Let's go."

"I don't wanna say goodbye to you, Aaron. Not yet." Liam said, sheepishly

"Come stay at mine and you won't have to then!" Aaron winked. " Just to clarify too, If you do come back to mine, I can guarantee you won't be doing much sleeping!"

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

**Smithy Cottage**

Liam and Aaron stumbled through the door, their lips locked in another passionate kiss.

"We…have to be quiet" Aaron panted as they parted for air. "I don't live on my own."

Liam nodded and captured Aaron's lips in another kiss. Liam felt himself being guided to the stairs by Aaron.

"Wanna finish what we started in Bar West?" Aaron asked, his eyes clouded with lust

Liam groaned in anticipation and was practically pulled up the stairs by an insatiable Aaron. The boys got to their destination and Aaron shoved Liam inside and onto the bed, before locking the door and continuing with the night's events

eeeeee

Liam stirred and groaned as he felt SOMEONE wrapped around him, he opened his eyes to see Aaron, his head rested on his tattooed chest, sleeping soundly. Liam couldn't help but notice how beautiful Aaron looked when he slept. He looked so innocent lying there, like nothing in the world could ever hurt him. A knock on the door made Liam jump

"Aaron! Planning on getting up sometime today? Aaron!"

The sound of footsteps on the stairs relaxed Liam again, and he reached over to gently wake Aaron.

"Aaron? Aaron wake up."

Aaron stirred and yawned as he sat up, he looked at Liam and smiled. "Hey you."

"Someone was just trying to get in here!"

"Huh? Oh…Yeah, that's Paddy."

"He sounded a bit old to be your flat mate."

"Didn't say I had a flat mate."

"When you said you didn't live on your own I just assumed…"

"Oh..Yeah, This is Paddy's house. He's like my step-dad." Aaron explained, climbing out of bed and putting his boxers on.

"You seen my jeans?" Aaron asked

"Well, the last time I saw them I was pulling them off you in a lust filled frenzy, so...no. I haven't!" Liam smirked, lying back down. "Does Paddy know about me?"

"Urm…no." Aaron blushed "I didn't wanna say anything in case I never saw you again or something."

"Well, I'll go and introduce myself then."

"Are you mad? Jesus you'll give him a heart attack!" Aaron laughed, diving to the door so Liam couldn't open it.

"He'll have to see me sooner than later!"

"I know." Aaron sighed "He may be a bit funny with you, not in a bad way, but it might freak him out a bit. I didn't exactly ask his permission to bring home some Goth randomer so I could fuck his brains out in his house did I?"

Liam laughed at the comment and kissed Aaron softly. "It was fun though."

"Right. You can't stay up here all day can you? Guess it's now or never. Just keep cool yeah?" Aaron replied, opening his door and peering outside. The smell of Bacon, eggs and toast filled his nostrils.

"You hungry?" Aaron asked

"Starving mate."

Aaron crept down the stairs, with Liam following closely behind "Morning Paddy"

"Good Morning Aaron. You feeling ok?"

"Fine, Why?"

"There was a lot of groaning coming from your room last night. I wondered if you were ill?"

Aaron's face turned scarlet and he laughed slightly "Pads…I kinda pulled last night. Now I know I should of asked your permission and everything but, It was late and I didn't wanna ruin the moment or wake you up."

"Oh…" Paddy replied, also going red at Aaron's confession

"Paddy, this is Liam. Liam, this is Paddy."

Paddy was quite shocked at the man standing in front of him, his face pierced in several places, not to mention the amount of tattoos.

"Nice to meet you Liam." Paddy smiled, extending his hand

"You too Paddy." Liam replied, in his strong accent

"Ooh! An Australian! Whereabouts are you from, Liam?"

"Adelaide. I moved to Robblesfield when I was 18."

"Forgive me for asking….but why? It's hardly all glamour down here."

Liam laughed "No, It's ok. I'm in a band. Me and my band mates moved here to see if we could get some kind of career going. We had a gig in Bar West the other night, That's where I met Aaron."

"Ah so you met him before then?" Paddy asked

"We've been on a couple of dates, yeah, We didn't wanna say anything in case it didn't work out."

"And has it?" Paddy asked, getting excited

"I think so." Liam laughed, looking at Aaron. "Well I hope so, anyway."

Aaron smiled at Liam, confirming what he needed to know.

"I better get going. I'm off to my boring job."

"Where do you work Liam? I can give you a lift if you want?" Aaron asked

"No it's ok. I can get the bus. I don't wanna make you late for work either! Thanks very much for the breakfast Paddy. It was nice meeting you."

"You too Liam. You're welcome here anytime."

Aaron and Liam left the cottage, Aaron leaned up against the wall.

"I'm sorry about that. Really I am."

"It's ok. He's a nice guy. So, Are we? Like together? Properly?"

Aaron smiled and nodded "Yeah. If that's what you want?"

"Yeah. It is. I better go. Goodbye Aaron." Liam leaned forward and captured Aaron's lips in a delicate kiss "I'll call you, ok?"

"Yeah." Aaron smiled, watching as Liam ran to the bus stop to catch the bus that had just pulled up.

Aaron sighed contently and walked back into the house.

"Aaron?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful, alright?"

"Careful of what, Paddy? Hang on a minute, you think I'm gonna fuck this up don't you? Just like I did with Jackson?"

"I didn't say that Aaron."

"You didn't have to! I know I made some mistakes and I can never ever fix them and I'll never forgive myself for what I did!"

"I just think you should seriously think about it before getting into another relationship."

"I'm over him Paddy! As I seem to remember it was him who left me! It was him who broke my heart! It was 6 months ago Paddy! I'm over it!"

"I know Aaron, I know, but the fact is you are still having those nightmares, you still cry yourself to sleep most nights, I can hear you! No matter how hard you try and forget about him Aaron, you cant. Just think about this, ok?"

"I have thought about it Paddy! I wanna be with Liam! I'm never going to get that confidence back if I don't try! Jackson's gone, alright? He's forgotten about! Why do you always have to ruin things?" Aaron yelled, stomping up the stairs into his room, slamming the door behind him.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Aaron lay on his bed, letting tears engulf his body. He closed his eyes as he thought back to that day. The day he tried so hard to forget about, the day Jackson left a black hole in his life.

***~*~* Flashback - January 2011 - Smithy Cottage**

"Aaron, Can I talk to you for a minute?" Jackson asked

"Yeah sure what's up mate?" Aaron asked, muting the TV

"Just promise me you aren't going to kick off?"

"What's wrong, Jackson?" Aaron asked, a slight panic in his voice

"You know Mum was saying that she is going back to her travelling? Well, I wanna go with her."

"You're leaving me?" Aaron asked, tears already filling his eyes

"This isn't what you signed up for Aaron." Jackson replied, gesturing to the wheelchair.

"I don't care! You can't leave me Jay."

"Aaron, please don't cry."

"How can you expect me not to? Jackson after everything we've been through you're just gonna give up on me? Just like that? I know I'm not perfect Jackson, But I'd do anything to make you stay!"

"There's nothing you can do Aaron, My mind's made up. Me and Mum are leaving. I've already talked with her about it. We're leaving tonight."

"No! Jackson please! Don't do this! I love you!"

"I know, and I love you. And It's because I love you I'm doing this. The thought of you being my carer…it's just too much. I'm doing this for you, Aaron, To save you."

"I don't need saving Jackson! I need you!"

"Aaron…."

Hazel walked into the room at that point, and saw the state Aaron was in, he looked at her through teary, pleading eyes.

"Don't take him away from Hazel! I'm begging you. Please don't take him away!"

"I'm sorry Aaron. It's what Jackson wants."

"What about what I want?"

"It's not about what you want Aaron." Jackson replied "You'll realise one day that this is for the best. I don't want to leave you Aaron, and I love you unconditionally with all my heart,, and I always will, but this….It's too much. It's too much for you."

"I can handle it Jackson! Stop treating me like i'm an idiot! Like i'm incapable to look after you! You promised me we'd be ok!"

"I'm sorry Aaron. It's over."

"Please Don't leave me Jackson. I'd do anything, I swear I'd do anything…" Aaron sobbed, hysterically

"Just keep safe ok? Promise me you aren't going to do anything stupid. I know you're hurting Aaron but this is for the best. I'm putting you first babe."

"Jackson…"

"There's nothing you can do Aaron. Nothing. I'm going."

***~*~* End Flashback**

Aaron was still laying on his bed. He moved his hand down to his neck, and located the silver necklace underneath his black jumper. The necklace Jackson had given him for his birthday. He'd never taken it off since he'd got it. He felt closer to Jackson, felt as if he was still laying in the bed with him, where he should be. He missed him. Missed his touch, his scent, missed his smile, his eyes. Aaron knew Paddy was right. He wasn't over Jackson. He shook his head, desperate to get the thoughts out as they flooded him once again.

***~*~* Flashback**

The sound of a car's horn outside made Aaron's stomach churn. He looked out of his bedroom window, to see Hazel and Paddy loading their luggage into the back seat. He knew there was nothing he could do now, but it didn't stop him racing out of his bedroom and downstairs.

"Jackson…"

"Aaron, I'm going, ok?"

Aaron nodded "I know. I just….I wanna say, one more time, that I love you. And as much as it's hurting me, if this is what you want, I'm not gonna stop you."

"Thank you Aaron. Just remember ok, It's because I love you I'm doing this. I'm protecting you Aaron. I only want what's best for you and this is it. You know that too."

"I'm going to miss you, so, so much Jackson, You have no idea."

"I know. Now you gotta promise me one thing Aaron. I don't want you sitting around the house, moping. Get out there, live your life, meet someone. Make them as happy as you've made me."

"Till I fuck that up aswell." Aaron sniffed, moving in to hug Jackson.

"How many times Aaron? What happened was not your fault."

"No matter how many times you tell me Jay, I'll always think it's my fault. I can't go out there and live my life, knowing I've wrecked yours. I broke you Jay. And I can't fix you. There's not a thing on this earth I wouldn't do if it meant you could walk again, If it meant I could go back to that night and stop you from driving away. I've broken you and I'm so sorry. I'd give my life away Jackson if it meant I could fix yours."

"Aaron, I've got to go."

"Please don't go…"

"I have to, Aaron." Jackson replied, wheeling himself out of Smithy Cottage for the last time. "Goodbye, Aaron. I love you."

"No…Jackson please!" Aaron yelled, as Hazel and Paddy helped Jackson get into the car.

Hazel looked at Aaron, and approached the sobbing teen "Keep safe Aaron."

Aaron nodded his head and wiped his eyes "Please Hazel..."

"He'll be ok Aaron." Hazel smiled, giving him a hug and approaching the car. She climbed in and the driver started the engine. Aaron couldn't stop himself, he desperately chased after the taxi, a desperate attempt to stop Jackson from leaving his life.

"JACKSON! JACKSON I LOVE YOU! DON'T GO! PLEASE!" Aaron sobbed. He saw the taxi and Jackson slowly disappear out of sight, and turn the corner out of Emmerdale and out of his life.

***~*~* End flashback**

Aaron continued to sob quietly into his pillow as the dark reality of what happened six months ago came flooding out. Jackson broke his heart, and no matter how hard he cried, how many words he could say or how much he wished that fateful night had never happened, Jackson wasn't coming back.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Aaron's phone rang next to him, tearing him from the devastating flashbacks. He smiled when he saw Liam's name on the screen.

"Hey Liam."

"Hey. You ok? You sound like you've been crying?"

"Nah I'm ok. So what you ringing me for then?"

"Just checking you weren't missing me too much! Oh and I wanted to see if you wouldn't mind me crashing at yours again tonight? I know you were supposed to come over here, but I've just had a huge argument with Jared and I really can't be bothered."

"Who's Jared?"

"One of the guys from the band. Can I?"

"Course you can. You know you can come round whenever."

"Ok. I'll get some stuff together and be straight round. I'll see you soon."

"Ok mate, See you."

Aaron smiled as he waited silently on the line for Liam to hang up. "Aaron will you hang up?"

"No. You hang up first!"

"Nooo! You hang up first"

"Ok." Aaron smiled and pressed the end call button, placing his phone down on the side. He giggled as a text message came through on his phone "_You hung up on me! L xx_"

He laughed and quickly replied "_You told me to! A xx_"

Aaron sat up on the bed and rubbed his teary eyes, he glanced at the picture of him and Jackson on the other side of the room. Luckily Liam hadn't noticed it. It was taken in Lanzarote. Both men had huge smiles on their faces and their arms wrapped around each other protectively. Aaron shook his head and approached the photo, placing it face down on the dresser.

"Out of sight out of mind" Aaron thought.

eeeeeeee

A knock on the door disturbed Paddy downstairs, he opened it and was greeted by a teary-eyed Liam.

"Liam? What's wrong?" Paddy asked

"Just had a stupid argument with my mate. I'm ok." Liam sniffed

"AARON! LIAM'S HERE!"

Aaron was down the stairs in seconds, as his heart broke as he saw the teary mess in front of him.

"Liam?"

"Hey. I'm sorry to bring all of this on you. We've been together a day and here I am crying at your kitchen table!"

"Hey it's ok. Come on, we'll go in the living room and we can talk, yeah?"

"Don't wanna talk Aaron, It'll only make me worse. I don't wanna ruin our night with me crying all over you."

Aaron nodded understandably and grabbed some beers out of the fridge "Want one Padster?"

"No I'm good. I'll leave you boys alone. I'm meeting Rhona soon."

"How is she?"

"Urm…She's fine…" Paddy replied, confused as to why Aaron suddenly cared about her.

"Who's Rhona?" Liam asked

"His fancy piece. Thing is, right, She's pregnant, With her ex-boyfriend's baby.. That ex-boyfriend happens to be like my second cousin."

"And I thought My family were complicated? Hang on, you said Paddy was your step-dad, so is Rhona your mum?"

"Nah. It's all too confusing. I'll explain it more later."

"So what are you boys gonna be up to tonight then?" Paddy asked

"Takeaway, few DVDs, x-box…you know. The MANLY stuff." Aaron winked

"Ok, See you boys later."

eeeeeeee

Aaron was standing outside Bar West, his hands placed on the blue object in front of him; Jackson's van. A teary Jackson was sitting inside, trying to drive out of Aaron's life, for good.

"Let me in the van Jackson."

The scenery soon changed, and he was standing in the street, alone.

"You've got me! Jackson! You've got me!"

He pulled out his phone and dialled Jackson's number, a sickening crunch was heard ahead and he ran and ran, but wasn't getting any closer. He could hear agonising screams

"Aaron! Help me! AARON!"

In a split second, he saw the train obliterate his lover's van. He fells to his knees screaming hysterically "JACKSON! NOOOOO!"

He felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him violently "JACKSONNNNN!"

"Aaron? Aaron!"

Aaron eyes snapped open, and he found himself on the sofa, in Liam's embrace. He gasped for breath as he tightened his grip around Liam.

"What the hell was all that about?" Liam asked, pulling a sobbing Aaron closer.

"Nothing. Just leave it."

"No. Talk to me Aaron, Who's this Jackson bloke?"

"I don't know."

"Don't lie to me!"

"Liam please! Let's not argue ok? It was just a stupid dream. Leave it."

"Fine." Liam snapped

"Liam don't be like that!"

"Be like what Aaron?"

"All mardy. I told you it was a stupid dream! It means nothing!"

"Whatever" Liam replied, standing up

Aaron sighed and grabbed Liam's hand "Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Why?"

"Cause if you're not gonna be honest with me Aaron…"

"What your dumping me because I had a nightmare? Oh just fuck off then alright?" Aaron snapped, getting off the sofa.

"Aaron I'm not dumping you."

"If you wanna go, then go!" Aaron replied, heading to the back door and opening it. He slammed it shut as Liam walked out of it, and he crumpled onto the floor, sobbing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Liam walked into the house and slammed the front door behind him, waking Jared who was asleep on the sofa.

"What are you doing here? Thought you were at Aaron's?"

"I was."

"Then why are you back here?"

"Do I have to tell you everything?"

"What is it with your mood today? Have you two had an argument or something?"

"You could say that, yeah." Liam snapped

"Dare I ask what about?"

"He was having this dream, about some bloke called Jackson. He wouldn't tell me what it was about."

"He had a dream? And you've fallen out with him because of that?"

"Just leave it, Jared, ok?"

"It was a DREAM Liam! You know sometimes you're too paranoid for your own good. You could of at least let him explain himself."

"He didn't wanna tell me. And if he's dreaming about other men I really don't wanna know!"

"Dreams can mess with our heads, you of all people should know that! How many times have you had dreams about what happened to you? You've never wanted to tell us about them. We KNOW you're still having the dreams Liam! Talk to him, otherwise you two are gonna be over before you've even begun!"

"Just butt out alright?"

"What are you scared of Li? That he's gonna find out Toxic wasn't the reason you moved from Australia? That he's gonna find out WE aren't Australian?"

"Jared, I'm warning you…"

"He needs to know."

"He doesn't need to know anything! Alright? What happened happened and there's nothing I can do!"

"Nah, You just ran away. You couldn't face what had happened so you ran away. Like you always do! You'll continue to bottle it up until you can't take it anymore and you'll lash out! Again!"

"Can't take what?" Liam asked, knowing full well he knew what Jared's response would be..

"You know who i'm on about Liam. Tyler."

eeeeeee

Aaron was still sat on the cold floor in the dark kitchen of Smithy. He didn't hear the key turn in the lock, or flicker when the light was turned on.

"Aaron? Aaron what's happened?"

Aaron looked up to see Paddy, standing at his side, worry etched across his face.

"I've blown it. I've driven him away." Aaron sobbed

"What are you talking about? You two were happy when I left, What happened?"

"I fell asleep and had the nightmare again didn't I? Liam wanted to know what happened and I didn't tell him..I-I couldn't. and now he's gone. Just like Jackson, Just like everyone else!"

"Oh Aaron! Come on, Sit down at the table." Paddy replied, helping the teen climb to his feet

"You're right Paddy, I'm not over him. I don't think I ever will be! I can't lose Liam Paddy! I can't!"

"The only way you won't lose him Aaron, is if you open up to him."

"What? Tell him "Yeah I enjoyed shagging your brains out mate but I'm not over my ex"? Good idea." Aaron scoffed.

"Tell him the reason you had the nightmares Aaron. If he's gonna be a part of your life from now on he needs to know what's going on inside your head!"

"I know! But I'm scared that's what's going to make me lose him! I told Jackson what was going on inside my head and look what happened to him! I cant face the thought of that happening to Liam!"

"It won't, If you're honest with him from the start Aaron."

eeeeeee

Liam groaned as his phone rang, it was Aaron, as much as he wanted to press the reject button, he remembered what Jared had said to him and accepted the call

"What do you want, Aaron?"

"I can't sleep, I need to see you. I need to explain."

"Explain what?"

"Everything. You wanna get to know me properly, right?"

Liam sighed and looked at his watch, 1am.

"Can't we do this tomorrow?"

"No, we can't, because if I don't do it now, I don't know when I'll have the courage to do it again. Please Liam?"

Liam sighed and climbed out of his bed "Fine. Where do you want to meet?"

"Just meet me at home, then we can go somewhere quiet to talk."

"I'm on my way."

eeeeee

Aaron waited patiently outside Smithy Cottage. He took deep breaths and wiped his eyes when he saw Liam approaching.

"Right. I'm here. Talk Aaron."

"Not here. Come on."

Liam followed Aaron up a narrow road, which seemed to go on forever.

"Where are we going?"

"The Cricket Pavilion. It's not far."

After a few more minutes of walking they finally reached their destination.

"Why are we here?"

"It's where I always come when I need to do some thinking or talking. You want me to be honest with you?"

Liam nodded and sat down opposite Aaron.

"Ok look, This is really difficult to explain ok. I just need you to stay with me alright?"

Liam nodded and Aaron continued

"That dream I had…I've been having them for a long time, Liam, almost a year now. I don't know how to stop them. Jackson…he's my ex-boyfriend."

"Oh great, you're dreaming about your ex-boyfriend? Makes me feel a whole lot better."

"Will you just listen to me?" Aaron yelled "I did something, that I'm never going to forgive myself for. we'd had a stupid argument, I got on the wrong side of some thug and I lost my dog because of it, I'm not going into details Liam, but It's no secret I've got a bit of a violent streak. I saw the lad who did it in town one night, I lost it. I really wanted to hurt him and the only thing that was stopping me was Jackson. He'd claimed our relationship was over and he tried to drive away. I got into his van and we'd talked, next thing, we're outside, on some abandoned road, talking things through. He told me he loved me…and…I couldn't say it back. It broke his heart and He got into his van again and drove off, leaving me at the side of the road. I STUPIDLY tried calling him, to get him to come back and he…"

"He what, Aaron?" Liam asked, stretching over the table to take Aaron's hand in his.

"He crashed. Because of me. He crashed onto a level crossing, and his van was hit by a train…while he was trapped inside. He survived, but he's permanently paralysed. He's never going to walk again and it's all because of me! I found him in the van, all scrunched up and covered in blood. I can NEVER get that image out of my head! It's messed me up Liam, probably for good. I don't think the nightmares are ever going to go away, the guilt I have is never going to go away. How the hell can I live my life knowing that I completely destroyed someone else's?" Aaron sobbed, tears flowing down his face and splashing onto the table below.

"Oh god, Aaron. I'm so sorry babe."

"I don't blame you, If you want to walk away. If you want to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere, Aaron. If you'll let me, I'll help you get through this, ok?" Liam replied, honestly, pulling a hysterical Aaron into a hug

"What if I fuck this up Liam? What if I fuck this up and something happens to you? I can't bear it happening to me again!"

"It won't." Liam promised, cuddling into Aaron

"How do you know?"

"Cause I won't let it. Not again." Liam sobbed "Not to you, or to me."

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Liam, Come home with me. Please. I really….I need you." Aaron begged, as the tears began to subside.

"Ok. Hey, You wanna go out tomorrow night? I feel I kind of owe it to you. I should never have walked out on you Aaron."

"No it's ok, I should have told you from the start." Aaron smiled, pulling away from Liam.

"Babe you're freezing!" Liam laughed, pulling Aaron back into the hug "One of your genius plans to catch hypothermia is it? Coming out here without a jacket on?"

"Yeah alright Mum!" Aaron laughed. "The night out sounds good."

"That's if you're not ill! Come on, Let's get you home. Paddy will have a fit if you've done a disappearing act during the night!"

"Thanks, Liam." Aaron smiled, dropping a kiss onto his boyfriend's head

"It's ok. I'm here for you, alright?"

Aaron smiled and entwined his hand with Liam's. "We're ok, yeah?"

"Course we are." Liam grinned, kissing Aaron again.

eeeeeee

"Morning Paddy."

"Morning Liam, Glad you two have managed to sort things out!" Paddy smiled as he looked at the young lovers sitting at the kitchen table.

"Yeah. You're right Paddy. Some things are better out in the open." Aaron smiled, taking Liam's hand in his own, stroking it gently

"You two got any plans tonight? Just Marlon was wondering if you fancied going round his for the Games Night?"

"No thanks Paddy, I'm taking Aaron out tonight. To make up for last night. Tell Marlon we appreciate the offer though. I'm sure I'll meet him some other time."

"Liam you're so goddamn polite! Might have to do something about that!" Aaron laughed

"Depends what you had in mind, doesn't it?" Liam winked, causing Aaron to blush.

"Shut up!"

"So where are you two off to tonight then?" Paddy asked, in an attempt to stop the sexual innuendo.

"Bar West I think."

"After I've taken you for something to eat."

"Aw you buying me dinner too?" Aaron asked

"Yeah. I wanna do this properly Aaron, apologise to you properly."

"Babe you don't need to take me for something to eat you know."

"Just let me do this, ok? And don't push it…Don't go bloody ordering the Lobster with Caviar or something."

"Awwh! And I really fancied that Lobster too." Aaron laughed, poking Liam in the ribs.

"Fuck you, Livesy!"

"Well if I get my way you definitely will be!" Aaron winked, forgetting Paddy was in the room.

"Lads, cut it out!"

"Sorry" Aaron replied sheepishly.

eeeeee

"That meal was lovely Liam, thanks. I still think you should of let me pay for something though." Aaron said, walking back out into the warm July evening

"Hey, I told you, This is me trying to make it up to you for last night. It was a pleasure paying for it, Aaron."

"Ok well at least let me buy some drinks in Bar West." Aaron smiled, snaking his arm around Liam's waist.

"You don;'t give up, do ya?"

"No, I don't. I'm not letting you pay for everything tonight Liam. Besides, I've got some making up of my own to do...Or you can have that later?" Aaron giggled seductivley

"Tease!"

"Always" Aaron smiled, planting a kiss on Liam's cheek

A random shout of "Oi!" was heard in the distance, behind the two boys.

"Was that directed at us?" Liam asked

"I don't know, Just keep walking." Aaron replied

The shout was heard again; "Oi! Fags!"

"Aaron.."

"Ignore them. Keep walking Liam, Don't look back at them." Aaron warned, trying to remain calm

"Don't ignore me you little poofs!"

The sound of running footsteps was heard, Liam froze in Aaron's embrace. The footsteps got closer and closer, Aaron could feel the breath of the man on his neck.

"Who do you think you are? Bringing things like…like THAT here?" the man snarled

"Look we don't want any trouble, ok?" Liam smiled, trying to walk away. His exit was blocked by two other men standing behind himself and Aaron.

"What do you want?" Aaron asked

"You know what we do to people like you, don't you?"

Aaron felt himself getting very cocky, he let go of Liam's hand and squared up to the man "Oh yeah? What?"

The man nodded behind Aaron, he turned around to find a knife pressed to Liam's throat.

"No…please…don't."

"Aaron..." Liam whimpered "Just do what they say, ok?"

"Now, what would you do if we were to kill your little slut, eh?"

"I'd fucking kill you. I swear to god I'd make you beg to die!"

"Think you're hard, do ya? Bring it on, Queer."

Aaron snapped and lunged for the man who had Liam, in a desperate attempt to get him away unhurt, a scuffle began and a piercing scream filled the air….

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

***~*~* Tall Trees**

"Marlon! Stop it!" Paddy laughed "You made me fall off a cliff. Look I'm last now!" Paddy moaned, gesturing to the screen.

"I am the Mario Kart champion, Patrick. Still yet to be defeated!"

"You've won once! And that was against Aaron!"

"I am still the champion!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Hey Marlon? Look out…" Paddy smirked

"PATRICK!"

"Yeah?"

"You just killed me! THAT is against the unwritten laws of bromance!"

"So is drinking all of my beer but you still do it!"

Paddy's mobile began to ring loudly beside him, both men were still locked in the battle as they reached the final lap of the game

"No no no! Could this of happened at a worse time? Marlon you're gonna have to pause it!"

"No way! You'll just have to call them back!"

"I can't ignore the phone Marlon! Pause it!"

Marlon sighed and paused the game "I'll get us some beers" He smiled as Paddy accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"Paddy…It's….You need to be here."

"Whoa, hang on, be where? What's going on?"

"I'm sorry Paddy! I tried!"

"Tried what? What are you talking about?"

"You need to come to Hotten General, fast."

"WHAT? What's happened?"

"It's Aaron…..He's….been stabbed."

"Oh my god. I'm on my way. I'll be there in ten minutes" Paddy hung up the phone and raced for his jacket "MARLON!"

Marlon appeared at the doorway leading into the kitchen holding two beers. His face dropped as he realised his friend's efforts to leave. "Where are you going…Oh god..It's not Rhona? Has she…"

"No, It's Aaron. He's been stabbed." Paddy sobbed

"Oh my god! Why? What happened?"

"I don't know. That was Liam on the phone. I need to get to the hospital now. Ring Chas now!"

**eeeeeee**

Paddy burst through the hospital doors, and saw Liam hunched over in one of the chairs, being consoled by a nurse

"Liam?"

"I'm sorry, Paddy, I'm so sorry!" Liam sobbed, accepting the vet's hug

"Liam you need to tell me what's happened."

"Me and Aaron, we were leaving the restaurant, we started walking towards Bar West and these guys started shouting things at us, We tried to ignore them and they chased us. One of them grabbed me and held a knife to my throat. Aaron tried to get him off me, and in the struggle, he got stabbed. I'm so sorry Paddy."

"Liam, It's ok. How bad is it?"

"They won't tell me anything cause I'm not family." Liam sniffed.

"Ok, You stay here, I'm going to see if I can find out what's going on."

**eeeeeeee**

***~*~* Mill Cottage**

Chas and Charity cackled like a couple of schoolgirls as they enjoyed their night in, bottle after bottle of red wine slowly disappearing, DVD cases were strewn across the room, along with many empty packets of crisps and chocolate.

"So what's next then?" Charity asked, pointing to a large collection of DVDs. "Not another chick flick!"

"No. I think we should watch something scary." Chas laughed, clearly drunk. The laugh turned to a groan as the phone rang in the hall.

"You set it up babes, I'll get the phone" Chas smiled. She struggled to keep her balance as she stood, and wobbled over to the phone

"Hello?"

"Chas It's Marlon."

"How do Marlon! My lovely cousin! What brings your round?"

"Chas are you drunk?"

Chas hiccupped loudly down the phone "Maybe. Anyway, What's up?"

"You need to…."

"Ey Marlon! Paddy's there isn't he? Say hello for me!" Chas giggled drunkenly

"Chas will you listen to me?"

"Alright. Calm down, what's wrong?"

"You need to get to Hotten General."

"Why? What's happened?" Chas asked, feeling herself sober up already

"Its Aaron. He's been stabbed."

"No…."

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Liam jumped out of his chair as Paddy came back.

"Paddy, what's going on?"

"He's in a bad way, Liam, He's lost a lot of blood."

"I'm sorry!" Liam sobbed again

"It's ok. He's going to be ok, Aaron's got through worse than this."

"I promised him Paddy, I promised him I'd look out for him!"

Chas burst through the hospital doors, closely followed by Cain, tears flowing down her face, the mascara leaving thick black lines. She approached Paddy and sat down beside him "Paddy what's happening to him?"

"All they've said is that he's critical. He's lost a lot of blood. They may need to operate on him."

"Operate? Why?"

"They said from the angle the knife went in, its likely his spleen will be damaged. If that's the case they'll have to remove it."

"Oh god…" Chas sobbed

Cain, ever the straight talker, was standing, staring at Liam "And who the hell are you?"

"I'm Liam…"

"And I suppose you saw this happen?" Cain asked

Liam nodded slightly.

"Ok, Tell me."

"Aaron and me had plans to go to Bar West. These guys started shouting things at us, Aaron told me to ignore them and they started chasing us, they grabbed me and threatened me with the knife. Aaron tried getting me away from him, and he…they stabbed him."

"Did you get a good look at who did it Liam?" Paddy asked

"No. It was too dark. I couldn't really see their faces."

"So they've attacked my boy and they are still out there?" Chas raged

"I'm sorry…"

"Liam, It's not your fault. It's ok."

"It's not okay Paddy! If they didn't grab me then Aaron wouldn't be here. If we didn't get that meal Aaron wouldn't be here! I can't lose him Paddy. I promised him I'd be there for him, and look what I've done!"

"What do you mean you promised you would be there for him?" Chas asked

Paddy sighed, and saw Liam was in no fit state to do it, he took charge. "He's Aaron's boyfriend."

"Aaron didn't tell me he had a new boyfriend!"

"They agreed not to say anything. In case it didn't work out. But you might aswell know."

Chas nodded and smiled at Liam "I'm Aaron's mum, Chas. Good to meet you Liam."

"You too." Liam smiled "Just wish we'd met in better circumstances. I'm Sorry, Chas, We've only been together three days and look what I did to him!"

Chas stood up, she crouched down to Liam's level and hugged him. "It's ok Liam. Aaron will get through this. None of this is your fault."

A nurse approached the four, "Are you here with Mr. Livesy?"

"Yeah, we are." Cain replied

"I assume you are all family, yes?"

Liam lied at that point, desperate to find out what was happening to Aaron, he nodded his head.

"We've had to take Mr. Livesy into theatre. His spleen was torn in the incident and it's caused internal bleeding. We also found an identical wound on his back, it seems he was stabbed twice."

"Twice? Oh my god…"

"The knife wound on his back was quite low, and I'm sorry to say it may have affected his kidneys. Now we won't know that until we operate, but if it has, we may have to place Mr. Livesy on the transplant list."

"No….People can survive with one kidney though, cant they?"

"They can, but it would cause serious medical problems for him in the future. We can only hope that the blade bypassed them."

"So, you won't know until he comes out of theatre whether he's going to be ok?"

"He's in a very critical condition regardless I'm afraid. We'll know more in 24 hours." The nurse smiled apologetically and walked away.

"24 hours? that's their answer for everything!" Cain yelled "Why can't the just give us a straight answer?"

"They're doing all they can, Cain. I can't believe he's back here. This is the one place I never wanted to see Aaron return to." Chas sobbed

"What do you mean? What do you mean by "back here"? what happened to him Chas?" Liam asked

"It's hard to explain Liam…Maybe it's best Aaron tells you himself."

"Please tell me. I need to know…"

"Last year, Aaron…Basically he couldn't deal with the fact he was gay. He thought he was going to get rejected, He'd lashed out at his ex, with fear of being found out. Everyone started asking him questions as to why he hit him, I didn't even know why he did it. Paddy told me why a few weeks later. Aaron found out that I knew and he couldn't take it, couldn't accept himself. He….He tried to kill himself, Liam."

"Oh god….Now I know what he means. He told me that last year was probably one of the worst years of his life."

"Aye. He's been through a lot, our Aaron. He'll tell you all of this Liam when he feels ready." Cain sighed. "Just…Don't push him, His ex, Jackson, pushed him, and…"

"He ended off paralysed. I know. Aaron told me about the accident."

"He did?"

"He woke up screaming, last night, I asked him what was wrong and he got all distant and moody with me. I figured it was best I went home. He called me later on in the night, begging me to meet up so he could explain. He told me everything about that night. Then, stupidly, I told him I was taking him out, to make him feel better, to apologise for being mardy with him. Now look what I've done. If you want me to go, I'll understand."

"Don't be soft lad" Cain replied "That's the last thing our Aaron wants. So I guess he wasn't lying about you then. I own the garage he works at, I'm his uncle. I heard his description of you and even I didn't believe him. Aaron's gonna be asking for you when he wakes up, so you're staying right here, lad. No excuses."

**TBC**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The hours seemed to drag on forever, each one more agonising than the last. The double doors leading to the operating theatre opened, and three nurses wheeled a critical Aaron into intensive care.

The surgeon approached the four, Chas was the first one to speak

"How's he doing?"

"I have good news and bad news for you, Mrs. Livesy"

"Dingle."

"Sorry?"

"I'm divorced from Aaron's father, My surname is Dingle."

"Miss Dingle, I am pleased to tell you that the knife wound to Aaron's back has missed his kidneys, so there will be no need to place him on the transplant list, However, he did have a punctured lung, we've managed to repair that, and we had to remove his spleen. Unfortunately also, Aaron has a bad reaction to the medication we have placed him on, as standard procedure we've had to run some tests, there's a high chance the medication may have poisoned his bloodstream."

"But you can do something about that, right?" Liam asked

"Until we find the full extent of his allergy, and also what he is allergic to, We can't give Aaron any more pain relief."

"So if he wakes up before you know what you can give him to help, he's going to be in agony?"

The surgeon nodded his head, and Liam slumped back into the chair, tears welling up in his sapphire-blue eyes.

"What's his chances?" Cain asked, earning himself a glare from Chas.

"I can't really say."

"Yes, you can. You did this to us with Jackson. That's where I recognise you from, You operated on Jackson Walsh. Young lad, hit by a train. Ended off paralysed form the shoulders down. We had to beg you to tell us about his condition, please, don't make us do the same for Aaron. We have to know."

"Given Aaron's current condition, It's looking unlikely he'll make it through the night."

"No...Please, anything but that!" Laim sobbed "This cant happen to me again!"

"What can't happen to you again?" Cain asked

"Please, don't let him die" Liam cried, ignoring Cain's question

"We're doing our very best to make sure that doesnt happen."

"Can we see him?" Chas asked

"Yes, you can, but only one at a time please." The surgeon smiled and walked away

Chas nodded and looked at Liam "You go first."

"No, hang on a minute. What did you mean by this cant happen again, Liam?" Cain asked

"Cain please, That's irrelevant right now. My boy is hooked up to a life support machine yet again! If Liam wants to tell us, he will. Go on lad, get yourself in there." Chas smiled

"Chas, no. He's your son. You should be in there with him, not me. He's not gonna want me in there. This is my fault"

"And he's your boyfriend. This is not your fault Liam, How could it possibly be your fault? He'll want you in there over me any day. Go on lad, get in there and see if you can get the stubborn little bugger to wake up."

Liam nodded his head "Only if you go in after me. He'll want you in there Chas."

"I doubt it. I promise I'll go in after you though, ok?"

Liam nodded his head and walked towards Aaron's room

eeeeeeeee

Liam went cold as he entered Aaron's room. The man laying before him, his boyfriend, was barley recognisable. Tubes were attached to pretty much every part of his body, and his face was bruised and scratched. The beeps and the hissing from the ventilator and heart monitor were the only sounds that filled the room for quite some time, before Liam managed to find the courage to speak.

"Aaron? Aaron mate it's Liam. Please wake up. I'm sorry, I genuinely am. I promised you I'd take care of you, didn't I? This time last night Aaron I made that promise, and now look where you are. This is my fault, I'm so sorry. I know we haven't been together for that long, but I can't imagine losing you. I really, really like you. I need you Aaron. You have to fight this. I cant go through this again, Aaron." Liam sobbed, carefully stroking Aaron's hand, being cautious of the wires and tubes that surrounded him.

"Your mum's here, and Paddy. Cain too. They're all sitting outside. How about you wake up and say hello, eh? Or do I have to go and get your mum?"

Liam sighed as he didn't get a reaction from Aaron, he shook his head, amazed at his own stupidity. He sat back in the chair, and taking one last look at Aaron, the dam burst and the tears began to flow yet again. Getting annoyed with himself, he stood up and leaned over Aaron, pressing a kiss onto the younger man's forehead, tears splashing onto his grazed face.

"You've made me do this you know. I have to do it. I'm letting your mum come in. Don't say I didn't warn you." Liam whispered and left the room.

He walked over to Chas and smiled "He's refusing to wake up. I'm taking drastic action. In you go." Liam smiled, wiping his eyes and pointing to Aaron's door.

As Chas entered the room, Her knees almost gave way and she sobbed hysterically as she saw the sight infront of her. she sat in the chair next to his bed, wiping her eyes and regaining her composure. "Hey you. You like scaring me don't you? Seems like every year you're in here. You better not be making a habit of this. I swear you've spent more time here than the nurses! I wouldn't be surprised if they invited you to the staff xmas party! Come on Aaron, wake up, if not for me, then do it for Liam." Aaron's machine suddenly flatlined. Chas jumped in her seat and held onto Aaron's hand "Aaron? Oh my god...CAN SOMEONE HELP?" Chas yelled, her voice breaking. Doctors and nurses spilled into the room, Chas was ushered out, crying.

"He's gone into Cardiac Arrest. Someone get me the crash trolley!" The doctor yelled

"Don't let my boy die! Please don't let him die! I cant lose him! I can't!"

**TBC**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Paddy paced the hospital waiting room as Cain comforted a hysterical Chas. Liam stared at the beige wall in front of him, a steady but silent stream of tears splashing onto his leather jacket.

"I can't lose him Cain. I really can't. Everything we've been through, He's just started looking up to me as his mother, for the first time in his life. They can't take him away from me. Not now." Chas sobbed, clinging onto her brother, desperate for some kind of hope for Aaron.

The doctor entered the room and sat down next to Cain.

"We've managed to bring him back. We think the flat line was caused because of his reaction to the medication we gave him earlier."

"Can you help him yet or not?" Paddy asked, wiping his eyes "Have you got those test results back?"

"Unfortunately we are still waiting for the test results. We need to let the drugs work their way out of Aaron's system before we can treat him further."

"So until then you cant do anything for him?" Liam asked

"I'm afraid not, no. "

Liam sighed and nodded his head. "Is he gonna be ok?"

"I'll be honest with you, I'm afraid I can't answer that right now. It's all up to Aaron now. If he wants to fight this, he will. We just need to run a few more tests and then you can see him again." the doctor smiled, placing a reassuring hand on Liam's shoulder before leaving the room.

eeeeee

"Liam? Look I know this is not really what we need right now, But I want to know what you were talking about earlier, all of the "this cant happen again" stuff. What's going on?" Cain asked "I'm just looking out for our Aaron, that's all."

Liam sighed and rubbed his eyes, tiredness taking over his body. "My mum died when I was 17. I'm just scared I'm gonna lose someone else I care about."

Cain nodded his head and placed his hand on Liam's shoulder "I'm sorry about your mum. But you've got to understand I'm looking out for Aaron."

Liam nodded his head "Yeah I know. I'm not gonna hurt him, Cain."

"Good. Cause if you do you've got me to deal with."

Liam nodded his head and sighed, wondering how much longer he could keep his secret. He rubbed his hands over his face and Chas smiled. "Our Aaron does that, When he's stressed. Think you've picked up all his habits already!"

"He is going to be ok, isn't he Chas?" Liam asked, twirling a ring around on his finger.

"Yeah, Course he is. He's a fighter. He's got through worse. That's a lovely ring by the way." Chas smiled, admiring the sparkling silver band.

"Thank you." Liam smiled

"Where did you get it?"

"I got it made. Special like." Liam smiled, continuing to twirl it on his finger.

"Well I suppose with you being a rock star and all you can afford it!"

Liam nodded "Sorry about the way this might come across, but I got it made out of my Mum's ashes."

"Oh Liam, I'm sorry."

"It's ok. You weren't to know" Liam smiled, cringing inside as lie after lie began to unfold.

The doctor soon re-entered the room, smiling. "Aaron's woken up."

Chas sighed with relief "Thank god! Can I see him?"

"He has asked for you Miss Dingle. Bear in mind though, he does unfortunately have blood poisoning. Although he's awake he's still very ill. He will be in pain and may slip in and out of consciousness. They're all classic symptoms. He is very confused as to where he is aswell, but once the drugs are out of his system we can treat him and hopefully that will improve."

Chas nodded and followed the doctor to Aaron's room. She looked inside and was relieved to see her son's eyes open. He looked very ill and pale but he was alive and that was all that mattered. She entered his room and sat down on a chair next to his bed.

"Hey you." She smiled, stroking his hand.

"Mum…What…What happened?" Aaron asked, his voice muffled by the oxygen mask. He tried taking it off but Chas stopped him

"You need to leave that on Aaron, It's helping you breathe properly. You've been stabbed in the chest love. The doctors had to operate and you had an allergic reaction to the meds they put you on. It's given you slight blood poisoning, but they said you are going to be ok."

"It… hurts.." Aaron groaned.

"It will Aaron, it will. They can't give you any more pain relief until the drugs you have in your system now have cleared. Don't want to overdose on top of everything else do you?" Chas laughed

"Mum…Liam.."

"Liam's ok. He's here. Do you want me to get him?"

"Stay…just for a little bit longer…..please?" Aaron asked, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"I'll be here Aaron. Get some sleep love. I'm staying right here." Chas smiled.

Aaron nodded his head weakly, and slowly gave in to the sleep that was desperately overtaking his exhausted body.

**TBC**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Paddy was sitting in the waiting room with Liam, waiting for Chas to return.

"Liam, I'm going to get a coffee, do you want one?"

"No thanks."

Paddy nodded and left the room, as soon as he was out of earshot, Liam dug his phone out of his leather jacket and dialled Jared's number.

"Jared hey. Yeah I know. I'm sorry I didn't call. Nice to know you're worried about me! No I'm at the hospital. Aaron's hurt. He's still seriously ill mate, I'll tell him you were asking after him though…"

Paddy returned to the room with his cup of coffee, he hesitated slightly as he heard Liam talking.

"This is not about Tyler. No! Jared please, don't. I haven't even told Aaron yet and I may not get the chance!"

Fuming with the suspicion that Liam was cheating, the door flew open.

"Look I've gotta go Jared. Bye."

Liam looked at Paddy "Sorry. That was Jared, from the band, just wanted to know how Aaron was."

Paddy glared at him. "Fancy telling me who Tyler is?"

"Tyler?"

"You mentioned a bloke called Tyler. I swear to god if you are cheating on our Aaron…"

"I'm not cheating Paddy! I swear!"

"Don't lie to me!"

"I swear I'm not lying! I would NEVER hurt Aaron!"

"Says the one who put him in here!" Paddy replied angrily.

"Don't you think I don't know that? Don't you think I haven't spent night after night crying myself to sleep because of what I did to Aaron?"

Paddy sighed and placed his coffee on the table. "Liam, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. It's not doing anybody any good blaming each other. What happened to Aaron was just a tragic accident. But please, have some decency and tell me who Tyler is. If you're not cheating on Aaron, then what's the problem?"

Liam sighed as the tears rolled down his face "The band wasn't the reason I moved here Paddy. I only moved here about a year ago. Tyler was my boyfriend back in Adelaide. He…he died."

"Liam I'm so sorry!"

"He was murdered. It was a homophobic attack. His parents blamed me for his death, It's like all of this is happening to me again, Someone enjoys seeing me go through hell. Like I'm being punished for being gay."

"Liam, No-one is punishing you because you're gay."

"Ever since I came out everything's gone wrong. My best friend was killed in a car crash, my mum died of a heart attack, I lost Tyler and I could've lost Aaron in the same circumstances. It's like I can't stop bringing tragedy on people that I care about!"

"You know, That's how Aaron felt once, That someone was punishing him for being gay. I take it he told you about Jackson?"

Liam nodded his head "Yeah. He broke down the other night, crying with the fear that something was going to happen to me."

"Aaron doesn't know about Tyler?"

Liam shook his head "I couldn't tell him. I still can't come to terms with it myself, I close myself off. I did have a boyfriend after Tyler, and I ended off pushing him away because I kept lashing out, getting angry. Adelaide just didn't feel like home to me anymore. Tyler's parents didn't want me at his funeral, they took away everything that reminded me of him. I fought to the death to get them to let me keep this." Liam held up his hand and showed the ring to Paddy. "I lied about getting it made out of my mum's ashes. Tyler gave it to me for our first anniversary. I can't and won't ever be able to switch off my feelings for him Paddy. I'll always love him."

"How long were you with Tyler for?"

"Four years. We met in College. They never caught the man who took him away from me, and are probably never going get the men who did this to Aaron."

"You need to tell Aaron about this, Liam. If he's told you about Jackson, He'll understand."

Liam nodded "I know. I just need to get the courage to do it."

"If you've told me, You can tell Aaron. He's your boyfriend Liam, You have to trust him."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

A doctor knocked on the door of the relatives room before entering and smiled at Paddy & Liam. "Hello, Im Dr. Cameron. We've had the results back from the test, Aaron had an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic we used during the procedure. I'm pleased to tell you that the anaesthetic usually wears off about two to three hours after the operation, So we can begin treating him again soon. We have taken another blood sample, to confirm the blood poisoning and to see if there is any trace of the anaesthetic left in his system. As soon as the results come through, I'll let you know."

"He's gonna be ok?" Liam asked

"We're not out of the woods yet, Mr...?"

"Turner."

Dr. Cameron nodded before continuing "Mr. Turner. But we are fairly confident he'll recover. The fact that he's awake is a very good sign."

"Can we see him?"

"You may. But I would still like to keep it to one visitor at a time."

Liam nodded understandably and looked at Paddy "You go."

"Don't be silly, Get in there before I drag you in there. Aaron will want to see you."

Liam nodded and left. He took the short walk to Aaron's room and his heart swelled as he looked through the window and saw Aaron sitting up in the bed, smiling as he noticed him.

"Hey you" Aaron croaked when Liam entered the room

"I'm so sorry Aaron!" Liam sobbed unable to hold back the tears any longer.

"Hey, ssh, It's ok." Aaron soothed "I'm still here aren't I?"

"Only just, no thanks to me. You've got blood poisoning babe."

"I know, And If i could reach out without it hurting, I'd hold your hand. Come on Li, stop crying, please? You'll smudge your eyeliner!"

Liam laughed and gently wiped his eyes "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologising!" Aaron smiled.

Liam nodded his head and took Aaron's hand. "Look, there's something important I wanna tell you, A little bit more about me. But I want to wait until you're stronger."

Liam could see fear clouding over Aaron's blue eyes. "What is it, Li? What's going on?"

"Look, I can't tell you yet. You're supposed to be resting. It's ok, I'm not leaving you or anything, It's just something else about my past. Basically the reasons behind one of our songs, You can remember "Please Don't Go" can't you?"

"I think so.." Aaron replied, confused

"Look, it's nothing to worry about. You come first ok, Forget what I said and just concentrate on getting better." Liam smiled, planting a kiss onto Aaron's head.

"Your piercings still feel weird, you know?"

"You'll get used to it! Tyler did!"

"Who's Tyler?"

Liam mentally kicked himself and covered his mouth "No-one. An ex. Sorry."

Before Aaron could comment further, a nurse came into the room. "Good news Mr. Livesy! The anaesthetiuc has left your system so we can begin treating you again! I'm just going to give you a little something for the pain, ok? There may be some side effects, but nothing for you to worry about. You'll feel a bit light headed and woozy for a while, Maybe a bit hyperactive, but it's all normal." The nurse smiled taking out a rather large needle from the tray in her hands. Aaron felt Liam grab his hand and cling onto it tightly.

"You ok?" Aaron asked. All he got in response was a simple nod, from a now very pale Liam.

"This will just feel like a little scratch, Mr. Livesy." The nurse smiled.

Liam watched as the needle slid into Aaron's arm, and he felt himself go dizzy before darkness engulfed him.

eeeee

Liam groaned as his head pounded, he woke up and found himself lying on the sofa in Aaron's room. "Ugh..What happened?"

"You fainted!" Aaron laughed

"No..Please tell me I didn't!"

"For someone who's got so many tattoos..."

"Thats different though. Those needles just look like a pen. That thing was brutal." Liam replied, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Aw cool! Look! They gave me a Hello Kitty plaster!" Aaron squealed, yanking up the sleeve on his hospital gown.

Liam groaned and put his head in his hands. He could live with fainting, but dealing with a very hyperactive 19 year old was something he wasn't sure he could do.

eeee

Chas sat outside the hospital room, cradling a cup of coffee. She smiled as she saw Liam cross the room and stroke Aaron's forehead. She hoped that for her son's sake, things were going to be ok now, and that her boy's heart would never be broken again. She didn't realise that day, how wrong she could of been.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

As each day passed Aaron became stronger, became more aware of his surroundings, He'd wanted to ask Liam again who Tyler was. It was puzzling him, he'd had dreams about it. Tyler was an ex, but there was still those insecurites bubbling away inside Aaron, that Tyler and Liam would meet again one day, and Liam would be taken away from him. The very thought made his blood run cold.

His thoughts were interrupted by his mum arriving, with car magazines and a clear tupperware box, which Aaron assumed could only be a cake from Pearl.

"Hey love. Got you these" Chas smiled, sitting down next to her son's bed. "Pearl also gave me this. She knows how you love Lemon Drizzle Cake!"

Chas placed the things on the table top that was standing next to Aaron's bed "Cheers Mum."

"How you feeling love?"

"I feel like I'm getting there, the pain isn't as bad anymore, but I'm just so tired all the time."

"You will be love. You'll be out of sorts for a while. I've arranged things with Paddy, You can come and stay at mine for bit if you want, just so you get back on your feet. With Rhona about to drop her sprog at any second, you need a relaxing atmosphere."

"And I'm going to get that at yours? Til you get smashed and screech along to Bonnie Tyler again!"

Tyler...That name sent Aaron back into his daydreams. He could see his Mum's mouth moving, but the words didn't register. All he could think of was Liam, holding hands with another man, being close to another man. It was only his Mum's hand waving infront of his face that banished the thoughts once again.

"Aaron love? You ok? Aaron?"

"Yeah sorry Mum, what did you say?"

"I said it's up to you. It was just a suggestion. Think about it, yeah?"

"Yeah i will do. You seen Liam today?"

"No love. We told him to go home last night and get some rest, have a shower and something to eat. Poor love's exsausted. He barely left your side this last week."

"Awh, Bless him." Aaron mocked

"Aaron, You really like him,. don't you?"

"Ah, Getting my mum quizzing me now?" Aaron smiled

"I'm just..."

"Concerned. Yeah I know! And yes Mum, I do like him. I never thought i would find anyone so soon after...well. You know. But I think I have. I can see a future with him, I can see us going somewhere, I can see us having everything that I had with Jackson. I just hope I don't fuck it all up this time."

"You won't lad. I know you won't let it happen again."

"Hey Mum, Did Liam ever mention anyone called Tyler to you?"

"No."

"Oh. Ok."

"Why love?" Chas asked

"He's an ex of Liam's, he's never told me about him even though I've told him everything about Jackson. You dont think he's hiding anything, do you?"

"Don't be soft! He thinks the world of you! Now don't push him into talking to you about it. Let him tell you when he's ready."

Aaron nodded and yawned

"You get some sleep, ok, I'll call Liam so he's here when you wake up. I've got to head off soon anyway, Alicia's done a disappearing act yet again and Diane needs me to work. I swear to god if that little witch doesn't tread carefully she'll find herself out of a job! I'll come see you in the morning love. Now don't go worrying about this Tyler bloke. Just concentrate on getting better."

Aaron nodded and slowly closed his eyes, Chas stood up, stretching after sitting on the hard plastic chair, she leaned over her son's sleeping frame and kissed him on the forehead, leaving a bright red lipstick mark behind. She laughed slightly as she saw what had happened, took a picture on her phone and turned out the light on the bedside table.


	17. Chapter 17

**Not very happy with this chapter, not the best I've written, but hope you enjoy it anyway. :) Thanks for the reviews. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17<strong>

Aaron smiled gratefully at Liam as he packed his things into a holdall. Aaron was now fit to be discharged, on strict instructions that he has plenty of bedrest.

"You don't have to do this Liam." Aaron smiled

"No. You're supposed to be resting."

"I'm sure I can pack a few things into a holdall Li!"

"But I'm not taking that chance. Anyway, here." Liam smiled, holding out some clean clothes for Aaron. "You'll be able to manage right?"

"Yes Doctor! I'll be fine!" Aaron laughed, getting out of the bed and heading to the bathroom.

A loud crash was on heard from the other side of the door. Liam raced to it, pounding furiously "Aaron? AARON!"

Getting no response, and realising the door was locked he ran into the corridoor. "Can someone help!"

Dr Cameron ran towards Liam "Mr. Turner What's happened?"

"Aaron went to get dressed in the bathroom, I heard a crash and he won't answer me and I cant open the door!"

Doctor Cameron calmly walked into the room and softly knocked on the door. "Aaron? Aaron can you hear me?"

Getting no response the doctor had no choice but to break down the door, He found Aaron lying on the tiled floor, out cold, blood surrounding his head.

"Is he going to be ok?"

"Yes, Help me lift him up, we need to get him back on the bed."

The two men lifted Aaron up and carried him back into the room, laying him down gently on the bed.

Dr Cameron examined the wound on Aaron's head and decided it needed stitches, he called a nurse to clean Aaron up.

"Looks like Mr. Livesy will be staying an extra night." Dr. Cameron smiled.

"He can't leave later on today?"

"It's quite a serious head wound Mr. Turner. Hospital procedure, he'll need a scan and will need to stay in overnight. I'm sorry."

Liam sighed and nodded, running his hands across his face. He laughed to himself as He remembered what Chas had said to him, Aaron always does it too.

Leaving the nurse to carry on dealing with Aaron's injury, Liam went outside to ring Chas.

"Chas It's Liam. Aaron's not gonna be coming home today. No, He's fine. CHAS! he's ok! The dozy git fell over while getting dressed and knocked himself out! They've gotta keep him in overnight cause there's slight bleeding. Yes I will. No you don't need to come down. Chas, listen to me! It's a little cut, nothing serious, but they have to keep him in, Hospital procedure apparently! Yes I will. Alright, Bye." Liam groaned in frustration, understanding now why Aaron flound his mother so annoying.

**eeeeee**

****** Smithy Cottage**

A knock on the door disturbed Paddy from his lunch "Yeah it's open!"

Chas entered the warm kitchen, and Paddy knew straight away she had been crying.

"What's happened Chas?"

"I just got a phonecall from Liam. They're not letting Aaron out yet. I'm sorry for coming over here in this state." Chas half-smiled, gesturing to her mascara stained eyes

"What's happened?"

"He was getting dressed in the bathroom, getting ready to leave and he fell over and knocked himself out."

Paddy tried to hold back his giggiling "That's awful."

"Paddy!"

"What? Only Aaron could do something like that!" Paddy smiled

"It's not funny! They're keeping him in a bit longer. Probably until tomorrow."

"Well then, that's not long at all."

"I know. But he was so happy about coming home."

"It's only one more day Chas. He's still got Liam there, He'll be fine."

**eeeeeee**

Aaron groaned as the harsh light invaded his delicate head. He opened his eyes slightly and focused on Liam, sitting beside his bed "What happened?"

"You were getting dressed in the bathroom, and you fell over and knocked yourself out."

"Ugh. It can only happen to me. When am I going home?"

"Not until tomorrow now babe. I'll let Dr. Cameron know you're awake."

Liam kissed the top of Aaron's head and disappeared from the room, soon returning with Dr. Cameron

"Ah Mr. Livesy. Good to have you back with us again. How do you feel?"

"Ok, I guess."

"Well, there's no lasting damage, theres a bit of swelling and we had to give you a few stitches, I'll go and sort you out some pain relief, hopefully you'll be ok to leave tomorrow morning."

"Providing you don't do another Torvil & Dean routine in there!" Liam laughed, pointing to the bathroom

"Who's Torvil and Dean?"

Liam smiled and shook his head "Don't worry about it."

"Muppet."

"Says you. I reckon you did this delibratley cause you fancy Dr. Cameron!"

"I do not!"

"It's ok, I won't get jealous. He's cute. Nice arse too."

"Nah, too boyband-ish for my liking."

"Which coincidentally increases his chances of being gay!"

"Tell you what, you sit there and drool over James and I'll go to sleep."

"Oh so it's James now, is it? Ey, 'ang on, didn't he direct Titanic?"

"Li?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." Aaron smiled, closing his eyes and relaxing against the pillows.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Now Aaron, are you sure you're ready to come home today?" Liam joked, re-packing Aaron's holdall

"Yes, Smart Mouth. I'm fine!"

"You decided on where you're going? Your Mum's or back at Paddy's?"

"Mum's. Rhona's due to drop her sprog at any minute, and if i'm supposed to have rest and not do anything stressful..."

"Ok. I tell you what Aaron, Im buying you some new trainers. Look at the state of these!"

Liam held up Aaron's black Lonsdale trainers, which were thickened with mud, motor oil and god knows what else.

"Oh they're fine! Stop being such an old woman!" Aaron laughed as Liam handed them over.

Aaron attempted to put on his trainers, but let out a scream as he leaned down to tie the laces.

"Aaron? What's wrong?"

"Cant..tie..them" Aaron gasped through the pain.

Liam crouched down in front of Aaron, conceren etched over his face "Look at me babe..Just breathe, ok?"

Aaron nodded and rested his head against Liam's shoulder. "Sorry, that just winded me a bit."

Liam nodded and bent down and tied Aaron's shoes for him. He could sense that Aaron felt pathetic, felt like a child again who didn't know how to tie his shoes.

"Is this how it's going to be from now on?"

"Only for a while babe. You were only stabbed a week ago. You're gonna be sore for a while. Trust me, I've been stabbed myself, I know what it's like!"

"You were stabbed? How?"

"Someone coming at me with something sharp seemed to work!" Liam laughed

Aaron was about to push Liam for more answers but was cut off by Dr. Cameron entering the room, carrying a large white bag and a pink peice of paper.

"Ok, Mr Livesy, I've got your medication here. There's three different types, so I want you to listen very carefully. These ones here, in the white and blue box, are your painkillers. You must take these three times a day but ONLY with food, These ones, in the green box are to fight against the infection. take them at the same time as the pain killers, and finally, these ones, in the blue box, are sleeping pills, just incase you need them. You've also got some sterile wipes, liquids and a few bandages in there. You must change the bandage every week. Clean each cut extremley well, but only AROUND the stitching. You cant get the stitches wet, I'm afraid."

"So what do I do about my head, when I want a shower?" Aaron asked, indicating to his head

"You've got surgical staples in your head, They'll be ok. When you do shower, wrap cling film all the way around your stomach, until you are sure both wounds are fully protected from any soap and water."

"Blimey. Ok."

"Now if you do forget what tablet you have to take when, it says it on the box. what they are and what you need to take, ok?"

"I don't think his mum will LET him forget!" Liam laughed

"Now all i need to do is to sign your discharge form, and then you can be on your way! Is there someone coming to pick you up? Or do you want to go in the ambulance?"

"Can we go in the ambulance Aaron? I wanna play with the siren!"

"You wanna what? How old are you? 5? It's ok Dr. Cameron, I'll call Paddy. Thanks though."

"Awh!"

"Liam, stop whining!"

"Well, I wish you all the best boys, Aaron, please take note of what I've said. I know what you're like, Bedrest, and plenty of it, ok? Goodbye." Dr Cameron smiled, waving and leaving the room.

"Right, Let's call Paddy and get you home. 'Ey Does Paddy have a siren in his car?"

Aaron rolled his eyes and eased himself off the bed. Ignoring Liam's question and heading for the door. The sooner he was out of here, the better.

eeeeee

Chas smiled as she stood at the door of Victoria Cottage

"Aaron love, Welcome home!" She smiled, running towards her son and pulling him into a cuddle as soon as he got out of the car.

"Woah Mum, easy. I'm still delicate you know!"

"You're gonna be in my room, Aaron, I've bunked in with Gennie."

Aaron nodded and walked into the house.

"I'll run this upstairs, shall I?" Liam asked

"Yes please love, its the third door on the left. I'll make us some tea, eh?"

"I just wanna go to bed. I'm knackered already."

"You will be love. Come on, I'll help you up there and I'll bring something up for you soon. What time do you need your tablets?"

"Lunchtime. Need to take them with food."

Chas peered inside the white bag left on the table "There's a lot here love. What do you need to take and when?"

"Oh I dunno, Liam will tell you. Li what are you doing up there?" Aaron shouted up the stairs

"Unpacking for you!"

"Great. You both gonna be making a fuss over me? You know i hate fussing!"

"Shouldn't have got yourself stabbed then kid! Get used to it, It's gonna be happening a lot!"

Aaron didn't realise at that point just how painful walking up the stairs would be. He had to stop halfway to catch his breath. It seemed to take forever but he was finally at the top where Liam was waiting.

"I'll go and make that tea. How do you have it, Liam?"

"Can I be a complete pain and ask for coffee? Don't really like tea."

"Of course love. Milk? Sugar?"

"Two sugars but no milk please, Chas."

Chas nodded and walked back down the stairs

"She's gonna be a nightmare." Aaron groaned

"Yeah, Me too. Toxic aren't doing anything at the minute, Lucky for you that gig in Bar West was the last of the Unsigned Bands Tour."

Liam helped Aaron into the room, helped him strip off and guided him to the bed.

"Right. One thing I want. Change the bedcover! I am not sleeping under a duvet covered in flowers!"

"It's ok, Nothing wrong with it! It's a bed aint it?"

"It's pink!" Aaron grimaced, sliding under the covers.

"At least you've got a TV and DVD player up here! I'll go to Paddy's later on, get you some bed covers from there and bring over a few DVDs...Unless you wanna watch girly films?"

"How Girly?" Aaron asked

"Ooh, we've got Just Like Heaven..."

"What's that about?"

"Mark Ruffalo plays a widow...blah blah blah..Reese Witherspoon is in a car accident, leaving her in a coma, her spirit walks the earth.,..that Mark geezer falls in love with her ghost..."

"Sounds crap!"

"Or we've got The Bridges of Madison County, Monster-In-Law, Steel Magnolias..."

"Ugh. Yeah best go over to Paddy's."

"I will later. You need to get your rest!"

Aaron sighed and nodded. God knows how long this was going to go on for, he didn't think he could cope, but for now, he'd just have to bite his tongue and bear it. It was going to be an absolute nightmare.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Liam had stayed at Chas' that night, yet again like he did in the hospital he stayed with Aaron. The morning light seeped in through the curtains, waking Liam. He opened his eyes, noticing Aaron was already awake.

"Hey you." Liam smiled "Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked so peaceful. I didn't wanna disturb you."

Liam smiled and stood up, walking to the chair on the other side of the room where he left his shirt. That's when Aaron noticed the tattoo on Liam's back. It was a heart with a scroll going through it, inside the scroll it read "Tyler Dawson". Unable to keep his insecurities hidden from Liam anymore, he took the bull by the horns and decided he wanted answers.

"Liam, You know you mentioned someone called Tyler in the hospital..."

Liam had froze at that point, his back still to Aaron "Yeah..."

"Who is he?"

"No-one."

"Then why do you have his name on your back? I assume thats him right? Tyler Dawson?"

Liam sighed and turned round to face Aaron, his sapphire blue eyes shimmering with tears.

"There's something you need to know."

Aaron nodded and patted the space next to him on the bed "Something to do with your past, right?" Aaron asked as Liam sat beside him.

"Yeah." Liam took a shaky breath and faced Aaron.

"Tyler..he's my ex boyfriend. I was 17 when I met him. My 17th birthday party, actually. I went bowling with a couple of guys from my dorm at college. He was there, bowling with his friends. We started chatting, realised we both attend the same college. I didn't know at that point he was gay. He just became a friend, we'd go out a few times, have little study nights and stuff like that. Well, one night, we decided to move things along, revision wise, we'd get a few beers. That's when one thing led to another and we'd kissed. I was convinced because Tyler was drunk, he didn't know what he was doing. But he leaned in and kissed me again."

Aaron nodded and handed Liam a box of tissues, they were now flowing down his face at a fast pace.

"We made a pact, that nobody could find out, not my friends or his. We were friends with the wrong people, if you know what I mean. We'd been together a year, He was my rock. The love of my life. After my Mum and my best friend died, he was all i had. Everything I wanted."

Liam relaxed slightly as he felt Aaron's hand running up and down his back.

"Well, It came to the point where I had to meet his parents. His Dad was a proper hard nut, he liked me, and he was ok with Ty being gay, but he said I was too scrawny and needed bulking up. For Christmas that year, his Dad gave me this appointment card thing, to go to self-defence classes. Tyler was never interested in that kind of stuff, so he decided that I had to be, to protect Tyler. Fat lot of good that did."

"Babes, it's ok if you want to stop, you know."

"No., I need to tell you, other wise I never will."

Aaron nodded and Liam continued

"Anyway, this class that I was supposed to do, It was the same day as my 18th birthday, the same day as mine and Tyler's anniversary. So I sacked them off and spent the day with him. Went surfing and stuff, went for meal, you know all the romantic stuff. He gave me this." Liam smiled, holding out his hand so Aaron could see the ring. "He'd asked me to marry him, and said that he didn't care how long he had to wait for the Gay Marriage Law to be passed in Adelaide. He wanted to be with me. I thought everything was going to be ok, after the year from hell that i had I thought things were finally looking up for me. I was so wrong. Aaron."

Aaron didn't know what to do or say, he sat there speechless, gripping onto Liam's hand.

"A few days after my birthday, we were going to a friends house. They knew about us, they weren't ecstatic, I knew thier feelings on people being gay, but they accepted it because they had no other choice, really. Anyway, on the way there, we were holding hands. Then we heard people yelling things at us...a bit like..."

"What was said to us?"

"Yeah. They chased us too. They'd caught Tyler, and were hurting him, really hurting him, beating him up and spitting on him. I tried to get them away from him but I couldn't. Ty was defenceless, curled up into a ball on the ground. Anytime I tried to get near one of them would knock me to the floor again. No-one came, No-one helped. They finally had enough, and just casually walked away, pretending they hadn't done anything. I didn't even recognise Ty lying on the floor, they'd really really hurt him. I tried to help him, I rang an ambulance and I held him in my arms. He...He died...He died in my arms while the ambulance was just minutes away. And all I could think about as I was holding him, was what a shit boyfriend I had been. He needed me and I couldn't do anything. If I'd taken those self defence classes...It was my fault he died. It was my faulty i'd sacked off those classes, It was my fault that I didn't do more to save him." Liam had completley broken at that point, and fell into Aaron's open arms, sobbing hard.

"And..I was so...Scared when it happened to you...I couldnt let it happen again! I didn't wanna lose you...and...and I thought I was going to!"

Aaron said nothing, he just cradled Liam in his arms, waiting untl the last two years of torture and pain flooded out of him.

"They wouldn't even let me go to the funeral. They said some horrible things to me, but it wasn't as bad as the things I'd said to myself. It didn't feel right, being in Adelaide anymore. I don't even know how I ended up here. I'd slept rough for months. I'd literally spent every penny I had getting out of Adelaide. I had nowhere to go, so I slept in shop doorways, parks, anywhere I could. It was then that I saw the sign, for an audition for a lead singer of a rock band. Ty always told me he could imagine me a few years down the line, singing, playing uitar, being on stage infront of thousands of people, so i went for it. I'd saved what I got from passers-by in the streets, managed to get into a hostel. I went for the audition, and it changed my life, they'd told me there and then they wanted me in the band. None of the guys I'm in the band with are Australian, and That's why I wouldn't let you meet them straight away. I was scared you'd find out and start asking questons and it was something I wasn't ready to tell you about."

"Do you regret telling me?"

Liam shook his head "Never, Infact, i feel better, it's like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders. There's always gonna be a part of me that loves him Aaron, just like you said to me that you'll always love Jackson. I got that tattoo because i was scared that if I didn't, I'd forget him."

Aaron nodded understandably "You wouldn't have forgotten him, Li. You never forget the people who mean something to you."

"You never thought about getting a tattoo for Jackson?"

"No. I don't want to. He's still out there, somewhere, i know he's alive. With you and Tyler...well, that's different isn't it?"

Liam nodded and wiped his eyes. "Thanks Aaron."

"For what?"

"Everything, for just being you." Liam smiled, shuffling towards Aaron and snaking an arm around his waist.

Aaron dropped a kiss onto Liam's forehead, and both boys lay there, happy and content in each other's company, drifting off into a deep sleep once again.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Aaron, How'd you feel about a little Welcome Home party? You've been home a week now and I know you must be bored to tears!"

"Why?"

"Well, Chas suggested it. Just a couple of hours in the pub if you fancy it? I mean you can always come back home when you start feeling tired"

"But I won't be able to drink!"

"You can have fun without alcohol mate! Your friends wanna see you anyway!"

"Well i suppose it beats staying in bed watching Die Hard for the 17th flipping time!"

"Awesome. You gonna shower first?"

"You saying I stink?"

Liam laughed and kissed Aaron softly "yeah you do. I'll get the cling film."

Aaron began to strip off, he winced slightly as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. He took off the bandage and studied his wound. It was still scarlet red, still traces of his dried blood surrounding the stiches, ugly purple and black bruising surrounding the 4inch gash in his stomach.

Liam returned with the cling film and began wrapping it around Aaron

"Eugh it feels weird!"

"It will. Right, there you go, all done. Leave the bathroom door unlocked and dont be scared about shouting me if you need me, ok?"

Aaron rolled his eyes and nodded, heading to the bathroom.

20 minutes later Aaron reappeared. "Right, let's get you sorted, and then we can go." Liam smiled, unwrapping a bandage from its plastic packet.

Another 20 minutes had passed before the boys arrived in the pub. Aaron was suprised how many people had turned out to welcome him home. Nearly thew whole village was there.

"Sorry we're late." Liam smiled "Gok Wan here couldn't find a decent enough shirt!"

"Shut it you!"

"Go and sit down boys, I'll bring your drinks over in a minute. What you having?" Diane asked

"A bottle of vodka." Aaron smiled

"Two cokes please, Diane. Thanks." Chas smiled. "You not joining us love?" Chas asked, indictaing to the empty seats next to herself, Cain and Gennie

"We will do soon, Just got to talk to liam about something." Aaron smiled, grabbing Liam's arm and taking him to the other side of the bar, a much quieter area.

"Talk to me about what?"

"Nothing. Just cant really be bothered to sit with that lot!"

"Ah so you're the new fella are you?" An old lady asked Liam.

"Yeah, Liam Turner. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Pearl Ladderbanks. I work with Paddy, Known Aaron for a long time. He's like a little grandson to me he is." Pearl grinned, leaning over to picnh Aaron's cheeks and joining Dermot back at the bar

"Nice lady."

"If you say so!" Aaron replied, rubbing his cheek. "Hey Li, You never did tell me how you got stabbed."

"It happened when I was at school. i was badly bullied, I tried to defend myself once, and it went horribly wrong. They followed me, and jumped me. Next thing I could feel was a really sharp pain in my stomach and I was bleeding. Guess you could say I've had a tough life!"

"Hopefully that'll all change now. You've got me." Aaron smiled, leaning over to kiss Liam.

"'Ey put him down lad you don't know where he's been!" Cain hollered

"Talking to me or 'im?" Aaron asked

"Him!"

"Jog on, Cain!"

Liam sat back, trying to stop himself from laughing

"Whats tickled you, EMO?"

"You two. It's funny! Erm...there's an old lady with curly blonde hair staring at me..."

"Huh? Oh...that's Betty. You ok Betty? See anything you like love speak up!"

"What in the name of god do you have on your arms boy?" Betty asked

"They're tattoos. Each one symbolises a part of my life that I don't want to forget."

"They'll look terrible lad when you're 80 and a bag of wrinkles!"

"Don't plan on living that long if I'm honest!"

"I bet you had a nice body before someone drew on it!" Pearl laughed

"Nothing wrong with his body Pearl. Trust me!" Aaron winked "Regretting coming here now?" Aaron asked

"Nah, I find it amusing. It's gonna be a good night." Liam smiled, leaning over to kiss Aaron "You know what? I know we haven't been together that long, but...I'm falling for you, Aaron Livesy. And I don't think I can stop. I...I love you."

Aaron smiled and storked Liam's hand "I love you too. I'm so happy right now, despite previous events. I...don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you."

The sound of the doors banging open and several gasps around the room caused Aaron to look behind him. He alomst dropped his glass of coke in shock as the confident male strolled up to the bar. He thought it was just a huge coincidence, someone who looked like him. It couldn't of been him, last time he saw him he was...Aaron had almost convinced himself he was just seeing things, Until the male opened his mouth to order his drink, that voice..it was unmistakeable. It only belonged to one person.

Jackson Walsh.

.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Aaron stood up, gawping at his former lover.

"Aaron? Aaron, who is that?" Liam asked, snapping Aaron out of his trance

"It's Jackson."

"I thought you said he was.."

"He was!"

"Yeah it looks like it!" Liam snapped

"Don't have a go at me Liam! I'm gonna sort this out!"

"Aaron, no"

"You think im just gonna sit back and accept the fact he can fucking walk again?"

Aaron finished off his coke and stood up, ignoring the pain that tore through his stomach he marched over to the bar, slamming his glass down on the counter, making Jackson jump. "Alright, Jackson?"

"Aaron!" Jackson smiled, suprised to see him former lover

"Gonna tell me what happened? Or don't I deserve to know?" Aaron asked, his eyes flashing with anger

"Aaron I didn't think you would of wanted to know."

"How did you work that one out? You broke my heart when you left! It broke my heart when you had your accident, you knew exactly what I was going through, the guilt, the sleepless nights, the nightmares..."

"Aaron, babe, come on, It's gonna do you no good getting all worked up." Liam smiled

"Who the hell are you?" Jackson asked

"This is Liam. He's my boyfriend. Not like its anything to do with you!"

"Oh, I see, your next little victim, eh? Didnt take you long to move on. Gonna paralyse him aswell?"

Aaron lunged for Jackson, Liam grabbed him and held him back "Babe, Come on, don't do this. You'll end off back in hospital again, Come back home, yeah?"

"Back in hospital?"

"It's not really any of your business, but I got stabbed."

"Nice to see you havent changed a bit then, still getting into little scraps."

"For your information, It was because he saved my life. He's changed, a hell of a lot, far more than you'll ever know."

"You don't even know me so don't tell me what goes on in his head! I already know! He'll fuck it up with you aswell, just like he fuck up everything else. He's like lava mate, he destorys everything he fucking touches."

The next thing Jackson felt was a fist connecting with his jaw, he stumbled back, blood pouring from his lip.

"Don't you dare talk about my Aaron like that! He gave you everything he had and more! You were the one who turned your back on him, you left him a broken man, I dont even think I can fix him, but i tell you this, I'm gonna give it a bloody good go and nobody, and i mean NOBODY is gonna stop me from doing that."

"He'll turn on you mate" Jackson sneered. "It's only a matter of time!"

"He told me all about you! Whenever something happened if it didnt go your way, you'd walk away. I'm a lot more understanding than that, pretty much come from the same background as Aaron, I understand him, and I love him, and you, turning up here, is not going to affect that, not one bit!"

Aaron reached out and grabbed Liam's arm "Babe, please, I just wanna go home."

Liam nodded and wrapped his arm around Aaron, making him turn his back on Jackson "Ok, let's go babe."

Jackson watched the two lovers disappear out of the pub. He could feel the many pairs of Dingle eyes staring at him, could hear the whispers about him. He smiled. He'd got the reaction he'd wanted. Now all he wanted to do was try everything he could to destroy Aaron and Liam.


End file.
